Niagara Falls C. difficile outbreak declared over

Posted Sep 6th, 2011

NIAGARA, ON: The Niagara Health System, in consultation with Niagara Region Public Health, today declared the C. difficile outbreak at the Greater Niagara General Site over.

“We know the last few months have been extremely difficult for our patients, visitors and staff, and on behalf of the NHS team, we would like to thank everyone for their understanding and support,” says Dr. Sue Matthews, NHS Interim President and CEO. “We will continue to work to our fullest capacity to maintain a quality and safe patient environment, and remain fully committed to bringing an end to the C. difficile outbreak at the St. Catharines General Site as quickly as possible.”

Regular discussions with Public Health and other infectious disease specialists, including Dr. Michael Gardam, Director of Infection Prevention and Control for the University Health Network in Toronto, indicate the hospital is doing all the right things to bring an end to the outbreak in St. Catharines.

“Our vigilance will continue at all of our sites, and we will go above and beyond infection prevention and control best practices as part of our standard work each and every day,” says Dr. Matthews. “We have taken many steps to enhance our practices, including enhanced surveillance and cleaning, and will take steps on an ongoing basis to learn and improve. Our healthcare team is fully committed to delivering the best possible care and the best protection against infection for our patients 100 per cent of the time.”

Restricted visiting hours (4 to 8 p.m. daily; visitors must be 13 years of age or older) and all other heightened infection prevention and control measures will remain in place at Greater Niagara General Site for the coming weeks to ensure continued vigilance by everyone.

An outbreak of VRE on Unit C at Greater Niagara General Site was also declared over on Friday, September 2, 2011.